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compost management to businesses throughout Eastern New York and Western Massachusetts).
“The rst state we really got involved in was Vermont, because it was the rst state in our trade footprint with regulatory food waste separation, segregating, and composting or alternative land ll diver- sion. But before that, we did a pretty major test up in Warren County, NY, with six stores,” explains Mausert.
While the trial went well, the vendor would have had to make a huge GAP investment to comply with some arduous state legislation. “That really stymied growth into the business,” he says, noting the business model is still dif cult for orga- nizations that exclusively compost.
Mausert adds that trying to monetize compost and moving it into a marketable end product is a relatively challenging task, and there is market development
together,” says Berman.
Extending that community further, Price
Chopper executives re ne sustainability constructs with federal, state and local government agencies, NGOs, private sector companies, university ag exten- sion programs, and industry associations.
Composting strategies exemplify that maneuvering, adjusting to uctu- ating legislative requirements, vendor relationships, methodologies, and logis- tics variables state by state, according to Rick Mausert, director of non-resale purchasing, whose tenure with Price Chopper goes back to 1974 as a senior in high school.
“We are trying to get to a point where composting is cost-neutral,” says Mausert, noting successful composting programs in around 45 stores currently, with a dedi- cated push to expand that number. The comprehensive commitment manifested through its composting program for organic food waste at corporate head- quarters by partnering with Empire Zero (a nonpro t providing food waste and
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